The short days of the season, a working man’s schedule, and over-scheduled weekends have made it difficult to get some documentary day-time images of our surroundings; during a mid-day trip to the downtown post office this past week I managed to get down to the Kennebec river shoreline. Everyone has been talking about the massive, and extraordinary for mid-winter, ice jam in the river, beginning at Augusta, and continuing south for several miles to Gardiner and beyond. A dramatic rain storm and stunningly moderate temperatures (the January thaw) several weeks ago swelled Maine rivers and broke up solid ice, causing what you see here. Tons of ice blocks choking the river flow.

At that storm, the river went normal spring flood stage (some 18 feet above mean high tide) and if I was taking these same images at that time, I would be underwater (and, if I was here, I would have been crushed to pieces by the ice bergs in seconds).

The first photo shows the old police station and the Father Curran bridge, looking northward; the second shows the Memorial Bridge and downstream; this jammed ice pack continues for miles south.